Black Oakland firefighter alleges profiling by city cop

Updated 5:07 pm, Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A black Oakland firefighter said he was the victim of racial profiling when a white city police officer kept his hand on his gun while detaining him and his two sons outside a fire station, mistakenly believing he was a burglar.

The incident traumatized his sons, said Oakland Fire Department Engineer Keith Jones, 43, of Oakland, who filed a formal complaint with the Police Department's internal affairs division and the Citizens' Police Review Board.

"I do feel racism played a part in this case, just by the treatment of my kids," Jones said Wednesday. "He scared the living daylights out of my kids. He was in the same crouched position, ready to pull his gun."

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The incident happened at 10:45 p.m. Aug. 15 as Jones and his sons, ages 9 and 12, returned from a Raiders game at the Coliseum. While driving past Station 29 at 1016 66th Ave. in East Oakland, Jones, who is based at another station, noticed the garage doors were open and decided to close them.

Jones' children were outside and were approached by an officer who ordered them not to move and to put their hands above their head, he said. Jones said he emerged from the station and was told to do the same thing.

"His demeanor and everything, and the way he was in the crouch position, his face, he was ready to pull his weapon during the whole time of the communication," said Jones, a city firefighter for 16 years.

Jones said he told the officer, "Sir, my name is Keith Jones. I'm an Oakland firefighter. I work here. Those are my kids. Could you please allow them to put their hands down and let them know that it's OK?"

Jones said the officer responded, "Keep your hands up and don't move."

The officer eventually let Jones reach into his pocket to show him his firefighter identification, Jones said. But the standoff could have ended much earlier had the officer listened to him, he said.

Instead, "I think he was stuck in that mode of, you know, being a super-cop, is what I would call it. I don't know what it was. He was stuck in that mode and wasn't listening to anything I was telling him."

Jones said he believes the fact that he is African American and the officer was white was a major factor in the officer challenging him.

"I think they view black males as a threat," Jones said.

The officer was not identified.

In a statement, Oakland police officials said the Fire Department had contacted police that night, asking if an officer could check the station's doors because they might have been accidentally left open by firefighters who responded to a call.

A police service technician arrived first, found the door open, saw two boys inside and asked for support from officers. The officer arrived, detained the three and released them after confirming Jones was an off-duty firefighter, police said.

Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said Wednesday that she was reserving judgment because of the ongoing investigation. It was her hope that once Jones showed his identification, a police officer would "step back" and "stand down."